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I think I'd go with the Schallers. I've seen them on a lot of guitars plus you are building a Hauser style guitar and you might as well have Hauser style tuners, right?
Jason

I never handled the Gotohs, but the Schallers, while looking cheap, are best value for money performance-wise.
Rubner makes better looking tuners, you can get natural brass plates without crappy "engraving" for under 100$, but they are not really available at the US sellers as far as I know. The mechanic is fine too, and for a few extra bucks they can also look sweet. Here in Europe they are about 50 euro with ebony buttons.

Now if you really want to put some "real" tuners, you can get the Sloane's from Stewmac at about 230$. These are arguably the standard for many many high-end guitars.

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Build log

I have used both the Gotohs and the Schallers in the $70 tp $90 price range and prefer the Schallers for smoothness and appearance. Neither compare to the Sloane tuners. Gotoh does make better tuners in the $250 to $300 range that some folks have felt are very good and better than the Sloanes.

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GEO
perpetual beginner

I have used the Shaller Hauser style and they are just fine.
Be careful of the "Lyre" style as you must have a tall headstock or the lyre will stick past the top.
Don't ask me how I know this....

Rubner tuners are now available on line. Rubner sells some models direct, and there is at least one dealer in the US. There are also some on ebay. Check them out. I'd take them over Shallers or Gotoh, inexpensive models, any day. They are made on a solid, thick plate, and are flat. The last set of the other tuners, which I paid nearly $80 for, arrived, in the package, and the plates were in a curve. I finally gave them away, they were so crappy. They didn't turn smoothly, and the curved plate made them bind in the holes. What junk. The Rubners are not Rodgers, or Graff, or Alessi, but they are quality tuners, solidly made, with smooth. reliable, 15:1 action. Some of the plain models are only about $55. Their price variables are all related to the amount of decoration and knobs. All of the base products are the same. The $200 model is built on the same plates, and has the same mechanism that the $55 ones.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I am not happy with the Gotohs on my Kohno. I replaced them with new, and the new don't stay tuned any better than the old.

Phillipo I use Rubner tuners on my classicals now, they are made by a small family firm in Germany and as you would expect of German engineering, they are very well made.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Does not look like a crack. I see this stuff in Spanish cedar from time to time, and it is normally OK, but i do test it. It may be a weak line, so it is better to just slice a short section and try to split it several times.

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Build log

You won't be sorry for choosing the Rubners. I have two of the econo sets and am very pleased.

Which dealer in MN did you find?

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

It's in the Archive of OLF Tutorials in the Tutorial Forum.

If you are interested, I did one based on Joshua's over at LuthierCom.org. I used a group of pictures from the three necks I had to do for my #2 guitar. It's based on Joshua's, but it has more pictures, FWIW.
Here is the back of my head-stock. Here is a link to the thread. You'll have to sign up, if you haven't, but it's free. Waddy's Excellent V-Joint Experience

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

A great way to test the wood for a crack is to take a pipette and fill it with denatured alcohol and squirt it lightly over the prospective crack. What about a minute than flip the wood over. If you see alcohol on the other side you know it went through and you have a crack. This works for tops really well, but I've done it for necks and heel blocks as well. If it is a really tight crack you can easily fix it with ca glue. It will wick into the crack just like the alcohol. Many times such a crack will not be detected under the finish.

Regarding bridge beads. I think they are ridiculous and make the guitar look cheap. They can damage the top. Especially if it is French polish.

Fillipo, I would be very hesitant about adding bridge boneheads to facilitate tying off your strings. They just add mass to the bridge and would probably attenuate the energy going into the guitar top. Nylon strings have significantly less string energy than steel strings. A classical bridge w/ saddle should be in the 18 - 22 gram range. I can't see adding more mass just for the sake of convenience.

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Peter

David - Glad to see you posting here. Your avatar indicates more tonsorial splendor than I remember from earlier pictures. And is that one of your Smallman adaptations in the picture there?

I'm working on another guitar based around the Rodriguez plantilla now, but with an elevated neck (or fall-away top, however you want to think of it.) Interesting.

Jim

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu